smile

Don’t forget to play

~ Fridgesays ~ 1 Comment

Quote Anon

Congratulations, whether you’ve had a wonderful Christmas holiday or perhaps things didn’t go to plan – you’ve made it to the other side!

Holidays where groups come together can be idyllic like a Christmas card scene or dry like an over cooked Turkey. This season can mean so many things to so many people; missing absent loved ones, overwhelmed with to do lists, or a rollercoaster of all the above and everything in between.

However, it’s also a wonderful excuse to play! Playing is how young children learn to navigate our world, interact and develop social skills, ignite imagination and it is written in the United Nations convention of the rights of the child, ‘the right to play’ is crucial to allow children to processing emotions and is foundation in their development, for this reason the UN will set up refugee camps in war zones that provide, shelter/safety, water and food and…a play ground if children are living there. Even in our worst times play is necessary, to help us process our traumas and circumstances.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to allow access to ‘play’ for all ages. Some people gather around the dinning room table for board games and laughter (check out the rules of most board games and they often say ‘age appropriate for 4+ to 99 years) others may gather to sing, put on nostalgic movies that allow our memories to recall events for Christmas’s past, but actually there are many other ‘play’ moments that surround Christmas.

Wrapping presents, pulling crackers, the entire narration of the mystical Father Christmas, lights in shop windows or over and around houses, decorating trees, even giving and receiving gifts has a certain playfulness about it.

As you set goals and objectives for the new year that we are blessed to begin, make room for play too. The serious aspects of life will soon come with or without an invite, don’t leave the opportunity to play in the past as it will enhance your future.

You can never be overdressed or over educated

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Quote Anon

This quote made me giggle and then it echoed deeply within me, therefore I’m going to deconstruct this quote into two sections

You can never be overdressed

As someone who has substantial experience in this area, I’d say it isn’t about the clothes but how we feel. Within my job I go into schools and complete observations of children aged 4-16 years. It’s essential they don’t know I’m there for them, as this would alter their behaviour, for this reason I often use my wardrobe as a dressing up box…observing a four year old in a sandbox is very different to a sixteen year old in a formal learning setting. A couple of weeks a go I was suppose to see a fourteen year old boy in an English lesson, he didn’t turn up and so I was about to abort the observation when his Head of Year said that he’d turned up to his next lesson…I grabbed the chance and made my way to PE. I introduced myself to the class teacher, explaining he should completely ignore me and not draw attention. He remarked ‘I think you’ll do that yourself, we’re doing Boxercise on the field”…whilst it was true my formal fuchsia dress with black 6 inch stiletto heels could be considered a give away on a large expansive field…heels and twirly dresses are my comfort zone. Grass and heels are irrelevant. I smiled at the teacher and said ‘this isn’t my first rodeo’ and strutted to the field. I found a bench and sat making notes. Did the child notice me? No.

There are so many components within life that make things challenging, why do we let our clothes restrict us? Four year old go to the supermarket contently dressed as superhero’s with wellington boots, why don’t adults? Right now are you wearing a wardrobe that you feel good in? Whilst I wouldn’t recommend heels for running marathons, like most quotes there is a context to be taken into consideration. For the majority of the time, wear what makes you feel fabulous!

You can never be over educated

I don’t think this requires formal training, exams and certification, nor does being educated require institutions and walls. People who seek knowledge, who’s intelligence shines like a soldiers boots, have a thirst for knowledge. They seek sources of information from various places, compare and reach their own conclusions. To be over educated is impossible – whilst the world spins and new theories are born, there is always something different to learn. Humans who have been recognised as leaders in their field, such as Einstein often dedicated their lives to destroying old theories, asking bigger questions and not settling for mainstream concepts. My hope for everyone is that you never stop learning.

…and where possibly wear whatever you feel sensational in.

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight

~ Fridgesays ~ 23 Comments

Quote by Phyllis Diller

It’s late at night and I’ve been exhausted all week, you think I’d be snuggled up in bed, but I feel the need to vomit words all over this screen – so here I am typing, no plan and no agenda, just a over tired woman and the need for some typing therapy. Ahhhh I’m already smiling.

Lets talk about the humble smile…a simple smile is the easiest and cheapest way to live longer, give your health an over all make over (it reducing your chance of heart disease, lowers your blood pressure and reduces stress). New research even suggests that it increases your chances of success and it makes you more attractive to a potential partner or new born baby; seriously babies love a cheesy grin.

So with these facts in mind why don’t we smile more, do smile-aerobics, smile indulge diets (like a diet but increasing not decreasing – yup I made the phrase up), why don’t we take time to laugh, like we make time to do chores or attend important meetings?(*any meeting that claims to be important are always extra dull and guarantee to be pointless). Honestly, I’m not really sure of the answer, but its something that I think adults should do more.

I’m lucky that I never lost the ability from my childhood to belly laugh – I’m talking full tears, can’t breath, abdominal workout, could possibly die, hard core LAUGH. I do this most weeks and several days of those weeks. Maybe whilst reading this you’re pondering on when you last ‘lost it’ in the giggle department? Mine was yesterday when one of my GCSE pupils used Hannah Montana as an answer in her MOCK exam, or two days before that when one of my yr 7 pupils was in a drama lesson being a shark (obviously) and her jaw ached so badly in rehearsals that when she drank from her water bottle her mouth muscles spasmed sending the water the wrong way and out popped the water via her nose…yup, kids are funny. My son comes out with killer phrases of both joy and oddness most days, his five years old, so humour and naivety are his friends.

I’m not sure I can teach you how to belly laugh? I think it comes from living in the moment and not being afraid to control situations. I think its helped by watching youtube clips of cats falling, babies giggling and humans failing. wikihow has a link to ’11 steps to laugh more’ (with pictures) which I haven’t linked because I think its rather sad. I think we all have belly laughs waiting to explode within us and would totally encourage you to release them.

Mr F, as regular readers will know is a grumpy human, his face falls in a nature frown and very few things make him chuckle or smile even slightly. He mainly smiles when I’m rolling on the floor laughing at something and I’m in pain from it. Seriously, pain makes him smile – mainly at my expense. That’s the absolute joy of smiles, they come in all shapes and sizes and what makes an individual smile is unique to them.

TASK:

Write down three things that make you laugh / smile. My ‘try not to think before you type’ ideas go something like this:

  1. watching stand up comedians
  2. people watching
  3. horrendous ‘Dad jokes’ (Need to build an ark – I Noah a guy)

Now you have your list make time to do these every week, then daily and I promise you’ll be healthier and see many advantages, then add to the list of things that make you smile, there will be so many more than just three. I’m also partial to an old school cartoon like Tom and Jerry or Henry’s Cat. Laughing is contagious, so if you smile it also boosts those around you.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I’ve had a seriously heavy week of being an adult, stress levels were high, responsibility lists were long and juggling home, work and life was a challenge – time to pop of some cartoons on I think?

Please comment below with either the things that make you laugh or your favourite Dad joke (the lamer the better) and when I’m feeling overwhelmed i’ll pop back for a smile through the comment section 🙂

Why be moody, when you can shake your booty.

~ Fridgesays ~ 28 Comments

Quote Anon

When I’m happy, be it a moment, a good day or an epic weekend I dance, sing and shake my booty. If only a sentence in to this post you’re thinking of me as Taylor Swift or a blonde Beyoncé; to be honest any of Destinys Child then I’d like you to stop reading this and always picture the little miss behind the fridge doors in this way.

For those of you that have realised fridge doors have lights and reveal every nook and cranny – I can hold my own on the dance floor (on those rare occasions I leave the house) but my singing voice is…not my best quality. In my head I sound like Adele but the reality is more Chubaka, however it doesn’t stop me; it makes me happy. Car singing is my favourite, bathroom singing comes in a close second but my three year old yells ‘stop Mummy, I don’t like it’ (*sad face Mummy)

Recently I realised I wasn’t dancing enough, listening to my favourite happy sounds or even shaking my booty. After this sad realisation I did what any sane woman would do, I reintroduced kitchen dancing. While doing dull chores I add tunes of joy; personally, ironing and 80’s hits works for me, current charts is my dusting vibe, Whitney Houston is great for washing up and anything from Garage anthems works for organising.

The bonus is a little more exercise in my day and my family living with a better version of me. To take my kitchen dance floor to the next level my lovely Mr F bought me some light up trainers for Christmas; which let’s all be honest are a little bit amazing (and slightly cringe too haha)


Smiling is good for the soul and the science behind our smiles is even better, with just 17 muscles needed to smile we are on to a wrinkle less winner. Laughing burns calories (around 40 for every  10 minutes) and even better it is contagious, so you laughing spreads joy to those around you (or in my case they laugh at me).

I find the winter evenings can be hard on the soul, especially if like me you go to work in the dark and then come home in the dark. The financial pressures of the holiday season can overwhelm and frankly a common cold can make me feel low for way too long, so if laughter is the best medicine I totally recommend that you incorporate shaking ya booty into everyday life. It’s cheaper than therapy and you can probably have that whip cream on your latte guilt free.

Are you a kitchen dancer?

I like people who

~ Fridgesays ~ 2 Comments

 Quotes vary, but all are by Anon.

This is the kind of quote that creeps up on me and makes me smile.

Why? I guess because it’s true, both literally and as a methaphor. First, let’s go literal.

At university myself and a friend called Amy once hit the streets – in a thunder storm, we danced and played, we puddle jumped and we smiled. It was a simple pleasure that we relished and has always stayed with me. How empowering to see pure delight from a natural source that so many see as a negative. (Myself included when my hair is horrendous thanks to Mother Nature)

Which leads me nicely on to the deeper meaning. To always look at the negative from a smiling positive perspective. Or the ‘silver lining’ as my Nanny would say.

On Monday morning I went to work…it was dark when I rolled out of bed, and dark when I got in the car to drive to work (highlighted by my son saying ‘look mummy the moon’) and so I entered work a little sombre. I’m not very good at being negative, so I decided to make ‘the rain’ work for me. The solution was simple, thanks to my lunch.

 I drew a smiley face on my satsuma. It made me chuckle, and somehow this silly little trick shifted the clouds of my ‘rainfall’ to a warmer climate. I then actively looked for things that made me smile and as the day went on the sun shone – well for me anyway.
So literally or as a methaphor my advice is to enjoy those rainy days as even amongst the saddest of times there is always the shimmer and light that hope brings (and always draw faces on your fruit).